Alisson Becker has been named Goalkeeper of the Season for the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League.

Liverpool’s Alisson Becker has won the Goalkeeper of the Season award for the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League campaign.

In his first season with the Reds following a move from Roma, Alisson wore the No13 shirt but was a lucky charm throughout as Liverpool won the UEFA Champions League – making key saves in the tight final in Madrid. The 26-year-old Brazilian also kept 21 Premier League clean sheets, landing the division’s Golden Glove award.

Goalkeeper of the Season voting*

1 Alisson Becker (Liverpool) – 334 points

2 Marc-André ter Stegen (Barcelona) – 136 points

3 Hugo Lloris (Tottenham) – 105 points

4 Jan Oblak (Atlético) – 36 points

5 André Onana (Ajax) – 28 points

6 Ederson (Manchester City) – 20 points

7 Samir Handanović (Inter) – 3 points

8= Wojciech Szczęsny (Juventus) – 2 points

8= David de Gea (Manchester United) – 2 points

*Only nine goalkeepers were voted for

Alisson’s 2018-2019 in Numbers

Honours: UEFA Champions League, Premier League runner-up

Individual accolades: UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season, Premier League Golden Glove

Alisson Testimonials

“If I knew Alisson was this good, I would have paid double.“ Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool manager

“Alisson is everything a modern goalkeeper needs to be. I have been watching him for some years now and am a big admirer. He is comfortable with the ball, he is an excellent shot-stopper and I see that he gives confidence to his defence.“Gianluigi Buffon, Juventus goalkeeper

How Alisson was chosen

The jury comprised the coaches of the 32 clubs in the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League group stage, together with 55 journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group, representing each of UEFA’s member associations. Coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own teams.

Jury members chose their top three players per position, with the first receiving five points, the second three and the third one. The player who received the most points in each category was named the winner.

Virgil van Dijk has won the 2018/19 UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award.

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has been named UEFA Men’s Player of the Year for 2018/19.

The Dutch international beat off competition from three-time UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo and two-time winner Lionel Messi. The 28-year-old centre-back received the trophy on stage in Monaco during the UEFA Champions League group stage draw.

The Top Ten

1 Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool & Netherlands) – 305 points

2 Lionel Messi (Barcelona & Argentina) – 207 points

3 Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus & Portugal) – 74 points

5 Sadio Mané (Liverpool & Senegal) – 51 points

6 Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt) – 49 points

7 Eden Hazard (Chelsea/Real Madrid & Belgium) – 38 points

8= Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax/Juventus & Netherlands) – 27 points

8= Frenkie de Jong (Ajax/Barcelona & Netherlands) – 27 points

10 Raheem Sterling (Manchester City & England) – 12 points

Why did Van Dijk win the vote?

Following Liverpool’s 2018 final defeat by Real Madrid, Van Dijk had every reason for nerves ahead of the 2019 decider, but his concentration did not waver. He shut out the opposition and was named man of the match as his side edged out Tottenham Hotspur in Madrid.

Fearless since arriving from Southampton in January 2018, Van Dijk kept more clean sheets than any defender in Europe’s top five leagues in 2018/19. While Liverpool fell narrowly short in the Premier League, his solid presence (and occasional goalscoring efforts) provided the platform for a sixth European Cup.

Season in Numbers

Honours: UEFA Champions League winner, UEFA Nations League runner-up, English Premier League runner-up, PFA Players’ Player of the Year.

UEFA Champions LeagueAppearances: 12Goals: 2Assists: 2

Domestic leagueAppearances: 38Goals: 4Assists: 2

How Van Dijk was chosen

The jury comprised the 80 coaches of the clubs that participated in the group stages of the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League (32) and UEFA Europa League (48), along with 55 journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group, one from each of UEFA’s member associations.

Van Dijk after Champions League final win Jury members picked their top three players, with the first receiving five points, the second three and the third one. Coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own team.

Van Dijk Testimonials

“You could write a book about Virgil van Dijk’s strengths and abilities. He is still young, but he’s so mature.”
Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool manager

“The ‘Swagger Don’. Virgil is suave on and off the pitch. He makes everything look easy, doesn’t he? When you’ve got him behind you, you’ve got that feeling of security. He’s been an absolute rock all season.”
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Liverpool midfielder

“He embodies the full picture of a defender: his radiance, the way he captains the group, his presence on the pitch, and also now the prizes – the Champions League was fantastic. He can be an example to anyone who wants to aspire to be the best.” Ronald Koeman, Netherlands coach

What is the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award?

For this award, players in Europe, irrespective of nationality, were judged according to their performances over the whole season in all competitions – both domestically and internationally – at either club or national team level.

Roll of Honour*

2018/19 – Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool & Netherlands)

2017/18 ─ Luka Modrić (Real Madrid & Croatia)

2016/17 ─ Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid & Portugal)

2015/16 ─ Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid & Portugal)

2014/15 ─ Lionel Messi (Barcelona & Argentina)

2013/14 ─ Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid & Portugal)

2012/13 ─ Franck Ribéry (Bayern & France)

2011/12 ─ Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona & Spain)

2010/11 ─ Lionel Messi (Barcelona & Argentina)

*Known as the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award from 2010/11 to 2015/16 inclusive.

The 2019 UEFA Champions League was the 64th season of Europe’s premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 27th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs’ Cup to the UEFA Champions League.

2018–19 UEFA Champions League

The final was played at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain, between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool. It was the second all-English final after the 2008 final, which was contested between Manchester United and Chelsea in Moscow. Liverpool defeated Tottenham 2–0 and have earned the right to play against Chelsea, the winners of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League, in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup; they also qualified for the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar. They automatically qualified for the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League group stage. As Liverpool had already qualified for the group stage by clinching the second place at domestic league, the berth reserved for the English runner-up was given to the champions of the 2018–19 Austrian Bundesliga – the 11th-ranked association according to next season’s access list.

For the first time, the video assistant referee (VAR) system was used in the competition from the round of 16 onward.

Real Madrid were the defending champions, having won each of the last three titles. They were eliminated by Ajax in the round of 16.

On 9 December 2016, UEFA confirmed the reforming plan for the UEFA Champions League for the 2018–2021 cycle, which was announced on 26 August 2016. As per the new regulations, the previous season’s UEFA Europa League winners will qualify automatically for the UEFA Champions League group stage (previously they would qualify for the play-off round, but would be promoted to the group stage only if the Champions League title holder berth was vacated, although this promotion to the group stage had been made in all three seasons since it was established from 2015–16). Meanwhile, the top four teams from the leagues of the four top-ranked national associations in the UEFA country coefficients list will qualify automatically for the group stage as well. Only six teams will qualify for the group stage via the qualification rounds, down from ten in the previous season.

Association Team Allocation

79 teams from 54 of the 55 UEFA member associations participate in the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League (the exception being Liechtenstein, which does not organise a domestic league). The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients is used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:

Associations 1–4 each have four teams qualify.

Associations 5–6 each have three teams qualify.

Associations 7–15 each have two teams qualify.

Associations 16–55 (except Liechtenstein) each have one team qualify.

The winners of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League and 2017–18 UEFA Europa League are each given an additional entry if they do not qualify for the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League through their domestic league.

The winners of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid, have qualified through their domestic league, meaning the additional entry for the Champions League title holders is not necessary.

The winners of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, Atlético Madrid, have qualified through their domestic league, meaning the additional entry for the Europa League title holders is not necessary.

Association Ranking

For the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League, the associations are allocated places according to their 2017 UEFA country coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2012–13 to 2016–17.

Apart from the allocation based on the country coefficients, associations may have additional teams participating in the Champions League, as noted below:

In the default access list, the Champions League title holders qualify for the group stage. However, since Real Madrid already qualified for the group stage via their domestic league (as third place of the 2017–18 La Liga), the following changes to the access list were made:

The champions of association 11 (Czech Republic) entered the group stage instead of the play-off round.

The champions of association 13 (Netherlands) entered the play-off round instead of the third qualifying round.

The champions of association 15 (Austria) entered the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round.

The champions of associations 18 and 19 (Denmark and Belarus) entered the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round.

In addition, the Europa League title holders qualify for the group stage. However, since Atlético Madrid, the Europa League champions, already qualified for the group stage via their domestic league (as second place of the 2017–18 La Liga), the following changes to the access list were made:

The third-placed team of association 5 (France) entered the group stage instead of the third qualifying round.

The runners-up of association 10 and 11 (Turkey and Czech Republic) entered the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round.

Access list for 2018–19 UEFA Champions League

Teams

League positions of the previous season shown in parentheses (TH: Champions League title holders; EL: Europa League title holders).

Qualified Teams for 2018–19 UEFA Champions League (by entry round)

Notes

Albania (ALB): In March 2018, Skënderbeu were handed a 10-year ban from UEFA club competitions over match fixing.[14] Since they finished as champions of the 2017–18 Albanian Superliga, the runners-up of the league, Kukësi, entered the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League instead of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League.

France (FRA): Monaco are a club based in Monaco (which is not a UEFA member), but participate in the Champions League through one of the berths for France (any coefficient points they earn count towards France’s total).

Round and Draw Dates

The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws are held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).

Schedule for 2018–19 UEFA Champions League

Preliminary Round

In the preliminary round, teams were divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2018 UEFA club coefficients, and then drawn into one-legged semi-final and final ties. The draw for the preliminary round was held on 12 June 2018. The semi-final round was played on 26 June, and the final round was played on 29 June 2018, both at the Victoria Stadium in Gibraltar. The losers of both semi-final and final rounds entered the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round.

Drita’s win on 26 June 2018 was the first time that a team representing Kosovo had won a game in any UEFA competition.

Qualifying Rounds

In the qualifying and play-off rounds, teams are divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2018 UEFA club coefficients, and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties.

First Qualifying Round

The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 19 June 2018. The first legs were played on 10 and 11 July, and the second legs were played on 17 and 18 July 2018. The losers entered the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round, except for the losers of the Cork City/Legia Warsaw tie who were randomly drawn to receive a bye to the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.

Notes

A. Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Second Qualifying Round

The second qualifying round is split into two separate sections: Champions Path (for league champions) and League Path (for league non-champions). The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 19 June 2018. The first legs were played on 24 and 25 July, and the second legs were played on 31 July and 1 August 2018. The losers from both Champions Path and League Path entered the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.

Third Qualifying Round

The third qualifying round is split into two separate sections: Champions Path (for league champions) and League Path (for league non-champions). The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 23 July 2018. The first legs were played on 7 and 8 August, and the second legs were played on 14 August 2018. The losers from Champions Path enter the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League play-off round, while the losers from League Path enter the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League group stage.

Play-off Round

The play-off round was split into two separate sections: Champions Path (for league champions) and League Path (for league non-champions). The draw for the play-off round was held on 6 August 2018. The first legs were played on 21 and 22 August, and the second legs were played on 28 and 29 August. The losers from both Champions Path and League Path entered the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League group stage.

Group Stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 30 August 2018 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four, with the restriction that teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other. For the draw, the teams were seeded into four pots based on the following principles (introduced starting this season):

Pot 1 contained the Champions League and Europa League title holders, and the champions of the top six associations based on their 2017 UEFA country coefficients. If either or both title holders were one of the champions of the top six associations, the champions of the next highest ranked association(s) are also seeded into Pot 1.

Pot 2, 3 and 4 contained the remaining teams, seeded based on their 2018 UEFA club coefficients.

In each group, teams play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The group winners and runners-up advance to the round of 16, while the third-placed teams enter the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League round of 32. The matchdays are 18–19 September, 2–3 October, 23–24 October, 6–7 November, 27–28 November, and 11–12 December 2018.

The youth teams of the clubs that qualify for the group stage also participate in the 2018–19 UEFA Youth League on the same matchdays, where they compete in the UEFA Champions League Path (the youth domestic champions of the top 32 associations compete in a separate Domestic Champions Path until the play-offs).

A total of 15 national associations are represented in the group stage. 1899 Hoffenheim, Red Star Belgrade (1991 European champions) and Young Boys will make their debut appearances in the group stage (although Red Star Belgrade have appeared in the European Cup group stage).

Tiebreakers

Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Articles 17.01):

Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;

Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;

Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;

Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;

If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above was reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;

In the knockout phase, teams play against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final.

The mechanism of the draws for each round is as follows:

In the draw for the round of 16, the eight group winners are seeded, and the eight group runners-up are unseeded. The seeded teams are drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same group or the same association cannot be drawn against each other.

In the draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals, there are no seedings, and teams from the same group or the same association can be drawn against each other. As the draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals are held together before the quarter-finals are played, the identity of the quarter-final winners is not known at the time of the semi-final draw. A draw is also held to determine which semi-final winner is designated as the “home” team for the final (for administrative purposes as it is played at a neutral venue).

Bracket

Round of 16

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 17 December 2018. The first legs were played on 12, 13, 19 and 20 February, and the second legs were played on 5, 6, 12 and 13 March 2019.

Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 15 March 2019. The first legs were played on 9 and 10 April, and the second legs were played on 16 and 17 April 2019.

Notes

A. Order of legs reversed after original draw, in order to avoid a scheduling conflict with the Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur match in the same city.

Semi-finals

The final was played on 1 June 2019 at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid. The “home” team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the quarter-final and semi-final draws.

Final

The final was played on 1 June 2019 at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid. The “home” team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the quarter-final and semi-final draws.

Statistics

Statistics exclude qualifying rounds and play-off round.

Top Goalscorers

Top Assists

Squad of the Season

On 2 June 2019, the UEFA technical study group selected the following 20 players as the squad of the tournament.